Analysts Set Bio-Rad Laboratories, Inc. (NYSE:BIO) Target Price at $436.67

Bio-Rad Laboratories, Inc. (NYSE:BIO) has been assigned an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the six analysts that are currently covering the firm, Marketbeat.com reports. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 12 month price target among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $436.67.

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on BIO shares. StockNews.com lowered shares of Bio-Rad Laboratories from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a “hold” rating and issued a $315.00 price target (down from $440.00) on shares of Bio-Rad Laboratories in a research note on Monday, June 3rd. UBS Group reduced their price target on shares of Bio-Rad Laboratories from $420.00 to $385.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, May 8th. Finally, Citigroup downgraded shares of Bio-Rad Laboratories from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and dropped their target price for the stock from $400.00 to $365.00 in a report on Wednesday, April 3rd.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP Michael Crowley sold 369 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $281.91, for a total transaction of $104,024.79. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 6,573 shares in the company, valued at $1,852,994.43. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders own 17.06% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Bio-Rad Laboratories

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in BIO. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Bio-Rad Laboratories during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $73,142,000. Parsifal Capital Management LP acquired a new stake in shares of Bio-Rad Laboratories during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $61,866,000. Earnest Partners LLC grew its position in Bio-Rad Laboratories by 30.8% during the first quarter. Earnest Partners LLC now owns 514,906 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $178,091,000 after purchasing an additional 121,272 shares in the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. grew its position in Bio-Rad Laboratories by 454.5% during the fourth quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 144,333 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $46,604,000 after purchasing an additional 118,304 shares in the last quarter. Finally, First Pacific Advisors LP grew its position in Bio-Rad Laboratories by 2,052.5% during the first quarter. First Pacific Advisors LP now owns 104,739 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $36,226,000 after purchasing an additional 99,873 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 65.24% of the company’s stock.

Bio-Rad Laboratories Trading Up 2.9 %

Bio-Rad Laboratories stock opened at $304.15 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 4.89, a current ratio of 6.57 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $284.11 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $307.85. The firm has a market capitalization of $8.67 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -29.36 and a beta of 0.93. Bio-Rad Laboratories has a 52-week low of $261.59 and a 52-week high of $431.79.

Bio-Rad Laboratories (NYSE:BIO) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 7th. The medical research company reported $2.29 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.04 by $0.25. The company had revenue of $610.82 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $619.09 million. Bio-Rad Laboratories had a negative net margin of 12.37% and a positive return on equity of 3.59%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 9.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $3.34 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that Bio-Rad Laboratories will post 10.8 earnings per share for the current year.

Bio-Rad Laboratories Company Profile

Bio-Rad Laboratories, Inc manufactures and distributes life science research and clinical diagnostic products in the United States, Europe, Asia, Canada, and Latin America. It operates through two segments, Life Science and Clinical Diagnostics. The company develops, manufactures, and markets instruments, systems, reagents, and consumables to separate, purify, characterize, and quantitate biological materials such as cells, proteins, and nucleic acids for proteomics, genomics, biopharmaceutical production, cellular biology, and food safety markets.